Social Media Marketing Trends in 2021
First, let’s start off with a wider look at what retailers and organisations, including those using Shopify as their ecommerce platform, can expect to see in the realm of social media marketing next year.
A socially-conscious approach
Audiences on social media, and particularly younger users, are becoming increasingly more socially-conscious and this is a trend that will continue to grow in 2021. Consumers want and expect their favourite brands to address issues that are important to them.
Doing this in an authentic manner that is also reflective of your organisation’s values and ethos can help establish a closer bond with your audience and increase the likelihood that they will turn into loyal customers. However, make sure you always practice what you preach!
Conversational marketing
This links to another growing social media marketing trend, conversational marketing. Brand messaging must move beyond meaningless slogans and buzzwords (and remember our point above about authenticity).
Instead, it should involve starting a conversation with your users about what they want and expect from your products and your business as a whole. This allows you to build strong links with your audience which can be converted into increased traffic to your website and increased revenue.
The pandemic’s not over yet...
Despite the recent spate of good news about COVID-19 vaccines, it is likely that the virus will continue to play a large part in our lives for some time into 2021. This means that the pandemic-related changes you have made to your digital marketing strategy over 2020 will have to remain in place and be optimised.
The Social Media Trends 2021 Global Report has stated that companies should keep four Cs in mind when thinking about how to adapt their communications for the current international situation. These are Community, Contactless, Cleanliness and Compassion. It’ll be just as important for organisations to produce informative and empathetic content that’s aligned with the latest developments from this ever-changing environment.
Preparing your Social Commerce strategy for 2021
In 2020 we’ve seen the emergence of a wider range of Social Commerce solutions, with social media marketers embracing them as they continue to drive more revenue from social media platforms.
Gone are the days when your social media strategy would focus just on engagement and customer service – with the Facebook and Instagram shopping becoming increasingly common and more platform following suite, social media’s turning into a real revenue-driver.
Offering discounts and other promotions
Given the current economic circumstances, making sure you offer eye-catching promotions and discounts as part of your Social Commerce strategy is essential to boosting your sales.
It’s also important to remember that customers who buy via social media usually aren’t seeking out the products they’re purchasing, they’re more likely to be impulse buys.
Automated bot checkouts are the future
Another important way you can optimise your social commerce experience is by setting up an automated bot checkout. This allows shoppers to engage with conversational prompts when they’re browsing your advertised products as if they were interacting with a real salesperson.
Influencer marketing
2021 will also bring greater prominence to influencer marketing within social commerce.
Having an influencer promote your product is an easy way to expand your reach to a much bigger audience and is more likely to lead to sales as users are learning about your products or services from a more trusted medium.
Social Media Marketing Developments for Shopify in 2021
These social media marketing trends aren’t the only thing you should be keeping an eye on for your Shopify store in 2021.
There’s also more Shopify-specific development in this field that will help you make the most of this digital marketing channel when preparing your strategy for the new year (but don’t forget about getting the basics right either!).
TikTok enables more Social Commerce options for Shopify merchants
A deal between Shopify and TikTok means that users of the viral social media platform will be able to shop as they scroll via the short-form videos they watch.
This is part of a growing surge of social commerce solutions in the USA and with the proposed ban on TikTok being delayed and looking more and more unlikely, as well as a possible expansion into Europe early next year, this feature is definitely one to look out for in 2021.
Shopify Expands East as well as West
It is expected that the recent partnership between Shopify and Alipay established this year will continue to strengthen in 2021. With Alipay payment methods already available to Shopify merchants in the USA, future markets where Shopify is expected to expand it to are Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
This increases the reach that Shopify merchants have in Asian markets significantly and gives the consumers within those markets an easier and more accessible shopping experience. This means that if your business wishes to sell to this audience, then your social media marketing must not have a solely Western focus and integrating Alipay messaging into Paid Social ads could be another way to capture the attention of audiences in these markets.
Need a helping hand?
Optimising your social media marketing strategy for 2021, given all the uncertainty of 2020, may seem challenging for any business no matter how experienced they are. Keeping on top of all the latest social media marketing and Shopify developments can also be a tall order.
If you need some support to make the most of your Shopify store in 2021 and beyond, our Shopify and digital marketing experts can help. Just say [email protected]!
